Memorabilia Support System

ABSTRACT

A memorabilia support system. The memorabilia support system includes a base having a torso portion having a front side and a rear side. An upper mounting bracket is disposed on an upper end of the rear side, the upper mounting bracket having at least one aperture thereon, and a lower mounting bracket is disposed on a lower end of the rear side, the lower mounting bracket having at least one aperture thereon, wherein each aperture is configured to receive a fastener therethrough. An exemplary embodiment includes a mounting plaque to which the base may be secured via the fasteners. The base is configured to support an article of clothing such as a sports jersey, while the mounting plaque is securable to a surface such as a wall in order to display the article of clothing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/472,069 filed on Mar. 16, 2017. The above identified patentapplication is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety toprovide continuity of disclosure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to memorabilia support systems. Morespecifically, the present invention provides a memorabilia supportsystem configured to support an article of clothing such as a sportsjersey on a wall or other surface for display purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many individuals enjoy collecting and displaying memorabilia relatingto, for example, their favorite sports teams. Such memorabilia mayinclude pennants, game equipment, toys, cards, and the like. Someindividuals particularly enjoy collecting and displaying articles ofclothing, such as the jersey of their favorite sports team. However, itcan be difficult to support and display a jersey in an aestheticallypleasing fashion. These individuals would benefit from a memorabiliasupport system sized to display any size of jersey on a wall or othersurface. In view of the above, it is desirable to provide a memorabiliasupport system configured to support an article of clothing such as asports jersey on a wall or other surface for display purposes.

Devices have been disclosed in the known art relating to memorabiliasupport systems. These include devices that have been patented andpublished in patent application publications. These devices generallyrelate to support systems for displaying articles of clothing. However,the devices in the known art have several drawbacks. The devices in theknown art fail to provide a base having a torso portion for supportingan article of clothing in an aesthetically pleasing and realisticfashion. Further, the devices in the known art fail to provide amounting plaque to which the base may be secured.

In light of the devices disclosed in the known art, it is submitted thatthe present invention substantially diverges in design elements from theknown art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the artfor an improvement to existing memorabilia support systems. In thisregard the present invention substantially fulfills these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types ofmemorabilia support systems now present in the prior art, the presentinvention provides a memorabilia support system wherein the same can beutilized for providing convenience for the user when displaying anarticle of clothing such as a sports jersey on a wall. The memorabiliasupport system includes a base having a torso portion having a frontside and a rear side. An upper mounting bracket is disposed on an upperend of the rear side, the upper mounting bracket having at least oneaperture thereon, and a lower mounting bracket is disposed on a lowerend of the rear side, the lower mounting bracket having at least oneaperture thereon, wherein each aperture is configured to receive afastener therethrough. An exemplary embodiment includes a mountingplaque to which the base may be secured via the fasteners. The base isconfigured to support an article of clothing such as a sports jersey,while the mounting plaque is securable to a surface such as a wall inorder to display the article of clothing.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will beparticularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and mannerin which it may be made and used may be better understood after a reviewof the following description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of the memorabilia support system.

FIG. 2 shows a rear view of the memorabilia support system.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the memorabilia support system.

FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the memorabilia support system.

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the memorabilia support system.

FIG. 6 shows an alternate front view of the memorabilia support system.

FIG. 7 shows a rear view of the memorabilia support system with agarment secured thereto.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the memorabilia support system with agarment secured thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like referencenumerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similarelements of the memorabilia support system. For the purposes ofpresenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, thepreferred embodiment will be discussed as used for displaying an articleof clothing such as a sports jersey on a surface such as a wall. Thefigures are intended for representative purposes only and should not beconsidered to be limiting in any respect.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a front view of thememorabilia support system and a rear view of the memorabilia supportsystem, respectively. The memorabilia support system includes a basecomprising a torso portion 11 having a front side and a rear side. Thetorso portion 11 is configured to support an article of clothing such asa sports jersey thereon. The torso portion includes an upper end 13 anda lower end 14, and one embodiment includes a tapered middle section 17therebetween. The upper end 13 includes a pair of shoulders 12 disposedon opposing sides of a neck portion 16.

An upper mounting bracket 22 is disposed on the upper end 13 of the rearside of the torso portion 11, and a lower mounting bracket 23 isdisposed on the lower end 14 of the rear side of the torso portion 11.The upper and lower mounting brackets 22, 23 comprise apertures 21thereon configured to receive fasteners therethrough. In the shownembodiment, there is a pair of apertures 21 disposed on each of theupper and lower mounting brackets 22, 23, and each pair of apertures 21is disposed in a linear arrangement. Further, in the shown embodiment,the upper mounting bracket 22 extends between an inner edge 15 of eachof the shoulders 12, and the lower mounting bracket 23 extends from afirst side edge 25 of the torso portion 11 to a second side edge 26 ofthe torso portion 11.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown a top view of thememorabilia support system and a bottom view of the memorabilia supportsystem, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, the torso portion11 includes a solid, closed neck portion 16 at the upper end thereof,and an open lower portion 41 at the lower end thereof. The closed neckportion 16 is centered between the pair of shoulders 12. The open lowerportion 41 is defined by opposing side edges 43 and an apex portion 42extending outwardly from the lower mounting bracket 23.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown an exploded view of thememorabilia support system and an alternate front view of thememorabilia support system, respectively. In an exemplary embodiment,the memorabilia support system further comprises a mounting plaque 51that is securable to a wall or other surface in order to support thetorso portion 11 thereon. The mounting plaque 51 may be secured to thewall or other surface via any known fastening means for securing anobject to a wall.

In the shown embodiment, the mounting plaque 51 includes a slopedperimeter edge 56. In this embodiment, the area of the rear side 54 ofthe mounting plaque 51 is greater than the area of the front side 55 ofthe mounting plaque 51. The mounting plaque 51 further includes a pairapertures 21 disposed on an upper end 52 thereof and a pair of aperturesdisposed 21 disposed on a lower end 53 thereof. The apertures 21 of themounting plaque 51 are positioned such that they align with theapertures 21 of the torso portion 11. A fastener such as a screw, bolt,or the like is insertable through the apertures 21 of the mountingplaque 51 and the apertures 21 of the torso portion 11 in order tosecure the torso portion 11 to the mounting plaque 51.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting plaque 51 has a rectangularperimeter 62. In alternate embodiments, the perimeter 62 can have analternate shape, such as a circular, elliptical, triangular, or othershapes. In use, an article of clothing such as a sports jersey can besecured to the torso portion 11, which can then be mounted on a wall viathe mounting plaque 51. The torso portion 11 can be any size in order tofit any size article of clothing. In this way, an individual is providedwith an aesthetically pleasing means to display an article of clothingsuch as a sports jersey on their wall.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown a rear view of the memorabiliasupport system with a garment secured thereto. In the shown embodiment,a t-shirt 71 is secured to the torso portion 11. The neck portion 16 ofthe torso portion 11 is exposed above an upper end 72 of the t-shirt 11.The t-shirt 11 is removably securable to the torso portion 11 via afastener 73 disposed on the upper end 72 of the t-shirt 11. The fastener73 is disposed on a rear side 74 of the t-shirt 11 so that it is notvisible when the t-shirt 11 is displayed. In the illustrated embodiment,the fastener 73 is a zipper. Users can unzip the zipper and insert thetorso portion 11 into the t-shirt 71, and then rezip the zipper in orderto keep the t-shirt 71 secured to the torso portion 11. The fastener 73may alternatively be a hook and loop closure, a snap closure, or othersuitable fastener 73 for securing the t-shirt 71 to the torso portion11. The mounting apertures 21 can correspond to existing apertures onthe t-shirt 71, so that a fastener may be inserted therethrough whenmounting the torso portion 11 to display the attached t-shirt 71.

Referring now to FIG. 8, there is shown a perspective view of thememorabilia support system with a garment secured thereto. The t-shirt71 is secured to the mounting plaque 51 such that a front side 81 of thet-shirt 71 is oriented outwardly from the mounting plaque 51. In thisway, a t-shirt 71 or other garment can be secured to the torso portion11 which can then be mounted to the mounting plaque 51, allowingindividuals to display the garment in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown anddescribed in what is considered to be the most practical and preferredembodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be madewithin the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications willoccur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the abovedescription then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensionalrelationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations insize, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assemblyand use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in theart, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in thedrawings and described in the specification are intended to beencompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

I claim: 1) A memorabilia support system, comprising: a base comprisinga torso portion having a front side and a rear side, the torso portionconfigured to support an article of clothing thereon; an upper mountingbracket disposed on an upper end of the rear side, the upper mountingbracket having at least one aperture thereon; a lower mounting bracketdisposed on a lower end of the rear side, the lower mounting brackethaving at least one aperture thereon; wherein each aperture isconfigured to receive a fastener therethrough. 2) The memorabiliasupport system of claim 1, wherein the torso portion comprises a taperedmiddle section. 3) The memorabilia support system of claim 1, whereinthe at least one aperture of the upper mounting bracket comprises a pairof apertures positioned in a linear arrangement, and wherein the atleast one aperture of the lower mounting bracket comprises a pair ofapertures positioned in a linear arrangement. 4) The memorabilia supportsystem of claim 1, wherein the torso portion comprises a closed neckportion at the upper end thereof and an open lower portion at the lowerend thereof. 5) The memorabilia support system of claim 1, wherein thelower mounting bracket extends from a first side edge of the torsoportion to a second side edge of the torso portion. 6) The memorabiliasupport system of claim 1, wherein the torso portion comprises a pair ofopposing shoulders, wherein the upper mounting bracket extends betweenan inner edge of each shoulder of the pair of opposing shoulders. 7) Thememorabilia support system of claim 1, further comprising a mountingplaque having an upper aperture and a lower aperture configured to alignwith the aperture of the upper mounting bracket and the aperture of thelower mounting bracket. 8) The memorabilia support system of claim 7,further comprising a fastener configured to secure the base to themounting plaque. 9) The memorabilia support system of claim 7, wherein arear side of the mounting plaque comprises a first area, and wherein afront side of the mounting plaque comprises a second area, wherein thefirst area is greater than the second area. 10) The memorabilia supportsystem of claim 7, wherein the mounting plaque comprises a slopedperimeter edge. 11) The memorabilia support system of claim 7, whereinthe mounting plaque comprises a rectangular perimeter.